A Guide to Hanging Wallpaper

Wallpaper has the ability to completely change the look of a room. It can add whimsy in a child’s room or sophistication added to a dining room. Whatever your style of decor, you can find wallpaper to match. Wallpaper does not chip or need retouching like paint either. Before you get started hanging wallpaper, however, be sure that you know what you are doing and hang it correctly to ensure that it will last as long as you would like it to.

Prepping the Walls

Before you even think about getting that wallpaper out, some prep work needs to be done. Any drywall needs to be primed before applying wallpaper. This prepares the walls for the wallpaper but also, makes it easier to remove if and when you need to. For walls that are already painted, check the walls over for cracks, peeling, holes or any other imperfections. These need to be addressed before applying wallpaper. Fill in holes with a putty knife and sand down when it has dried. Also sand any peeling or bumps in the paint to give you a smooth even surface to start with. Clean the walls and then wipe them down to ensure they are dry. Remove any light switches or electrical outlet covers.

Prepping the Wallpaper

Now that the walls are prepped, the wallpaper needs to be prepped as well. If this is not done correctly it can result in wallpaper that does not stick correctly or peels away eventually. Some wallpaper needs to be pasted and some comes already pre-pasted. Pre-pasted wallpaper needs to have paste activated in some way before you begin. The messy way to do this is to use a bathtub to soak the wallpaper in which can be a big hassle. The other option is to buy what is called paste activator. This is brushed on the wallpaper, activates the paste and makes it ready to apply.

Start Hanging

Now that both your walls and your wallpaper are ready to go you can start hanging. Find a corner of the room that is the least conspicuous and start there. Cut a piece of prepped wallpaper that is at least a few inches longer than you need. Start at the ceiling and make sure the piece is plumb against the corner. Hang the piece with about a couple of inches overlapping at the top on to the ceiling and a couple of inches overlapping at the bottom. smooth the paper from the middle up and then from the middle down using a plastic smoothing tool. Make sure you smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles. Use a razor to trim the excess off at the top and bottom once it has been smoothed out. Continue this process with each piece, lining it up with the previous one until you have gone around the entire room. Allow the last piece to overlap over the first piece and then trim both at the corner to finish the project.